It's About Hope

So, about a week ago Shawshank Redemption came on TV. Not really a big deal, it's a cable television staple, and should be, it's the greatest film ever made. A few people I know can't watch it, or won't watch it rather, and I finally confronted them on this little fact. Why? I asked.

Their answer, summarized: "It's too sad, watching a man go through that, thinking about how justice failed, how he was raped and beaten, wrongfully imprisoned, denied his release, it's all just painful to watch."

See, it always amazes me what people take way from movies. They aren't wrong, not really, but I think it says something about them, about how they view life in genral. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it.

See, I don't think the movie is any of those things, I think it's about hope. Hope in the face of adversity. First, he wasn't wrongfully imprisomed, he admits as much towards the end of the film. "I killed my wife. I didn't pull the trigger, but I killed her."

It's about what we can become when faced with what we are. It's about living through the pain, knowing that there is something waiting for you on the other side. It's about crawling through that river of shit just because you want to keep on living. It's probably the most inspirational film I've ever seen, and my favorite movie ever, depending on what day it is, and I just can't imagine seeing it any other way. But, to each his own.

-L